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Turning heroine

All those who thought Dhanya has confined herself to playing cameos like in
Seventh Sense, Love Failure, Yeto Vellipoyindi Manasu
and
Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu
, will be happy to know that she will be seen in a full-fledged role as a heroine in
Chinni Chinni Aasa
and as a solo heroine in a film by Puri Jagannadh’s
Associate
. Dhanya has a Masters in film studies and theatre background and has now made up her mind to move from theatre to movies. About
Chinni Chinni Aasa
she says, “It has three parallel stories about three couples and I play an aspiring model who is an extremely ambitious and the story deals with how she has to go through small hiccups with the people she meets. All the three couples live in the same colony.”

Going tribal

Bangalore beauty Shikha is awaiting the release of
Attahasa
(Kannada) and
Vana Yuddham
(Tamil). The story of the Tamil film based on the life of Veerappan. It was not an easy task shooting in the forest and she was asked to see films in which tribals played a role. Shikha’s character is a tribal woman who is set to marry Veerappan’s associate, but just a day before the marriage he is shot right in front of her eyes. “Kishore (of
Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum
fame) is Veerappan and Arjun Sarja is the cop. We shot in all the locations where Veerappan moved and overall, the film gives a very realistic feel. The director did a research for ten years before embarking on this project,” she adds.

y. sunita chowdhary

Back after

a break

K
andireega
was her last film but Aksha doesn’t regret taking a break after that, as she was keen on picking the right project. She quips, “I don’t know how it will fare but I can say with a gut feeling that
Satruvu
that that is releasing on the 24th is something that I will be proud of being associated even after ten years. I play a highly educated city girl which is in total contrast to what I did in
Kandireega
.” The actor says every time she landed in Hyderabad, the assistant directors would shove sheets of dialogues into her hands to memorise and she never found a single day to even relax. The biggest gift she adds will be the release of the film which falls on her birthday.

Gush on Godavari

While the rest of the world was partying, Varun Sandesh had a working new year in Rajamundry, apparently his favourite place. He had shot for
Kottha Bangaru Lokam
and now for
Priyatama Nuvvachata Kusalama
directed by Trinadh on the banks of Godavari. Varun goes gaga about the people whom he finds very friendly, hospitable and down to earth. “I like their dialect and the way they stretch the words. For the past one week in Rajamundry I hogged prawns for lunch and dinner till I could have no more.” The actor has around five or six releases coming up this year.